Okay, so here is a little known fact that I am willing to admit to you my cyber friends, I am a closet spaghetti-Western fan! There, I said it. My oh-so-patient wife doesn't share my guilty pleasure so I've hidden it even from her but I feel like I can finally share it with all 52 (official) of you. Yes, I know full well that given the way the gossip trail flows it will spread like wildfire now.
(skip to to 1:02 to get to the "gossip" part)
Anyhoozle, one of my favorite parts of the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly has to be the finale - Clinte Eastwood is such a badass! The way that final scene plays out is almost like watching some kind of gunfighter ballet - especially starting at 1:41! But just watch it for yourself!
Not that I'm advocating gun violence or anything but I just think that is a classic movie scene!
But on with what this blog is really about - Connor's Army news (and a little about me!)
As many of you might remember (if you've been following) this past Saturday, Peter Haughwout's art group Art Studio 85 (http://www.artstudio85.com/) had a combined showing with the art group Fresh (http://www.freshartlongisland.com/) to benefit Connor's Army.
There was a very nice turnout with some amazing art and a jaw-dropping performance by three brothers who call themselves The Michael Jazz Trio. These three brothers are incredible musicians and they are aged 10, 15 and 17. Once again, check them out here as they won Amateur Night at The Apollo;
Can you believe that? And they are truly nice and humble in person - with everyone shouting accolades at them they were truly appreciative and humble. Where has all of that gone in kids today? Damn, I'm starting to sound like Paul Lynde and Maureen Stapleton ( I wonder if she was any relation to Jean?);
(Enjoy the closed captioning for the hearing impaired)
So that, to go along with the theme of this post, would constitute some of the GOOD that happened this weekend. That, on top of being able to be there for the boys' first little league game of the season (and yes, once again I am an "unofficial" coach for the team but I love helping instead of just watching on the sidelines).
The only BAD part of the day was when I was "drafted" to be the umpire during hte inning when they had boys (instead of coaches) pitching. I actually had to call a strike on William that was right across his strike zone and over the plate. It was a beautiful pitch but he didn't swing at all and I had to call him out. I felt like such an ass but I had to be impartial. Of course, his very next time up at bat he hit an infield home run - he hit the ball to right field and just put his head down and didnt' stop running until he he slid into home plate! So , we went back to the GOOD!
However another part of the BAD that happened over the weekend was that none of the artists (with the exception of Peter Haughwout, Jr.) managed to sell any artwork. He sold it to Nada Marjanovich who is the publisher/editor of the Long Island Pulse! That was really a great thing for him and for his budding career as an artist - so that was GOOD!
Of course, another GOOD thing about the event was that there was free wine for the attendees (okay, not the kids) but because I was planning to try to do a 50-mile ride with the AA group from the Huntington Bicycle Club the next day (that, for the record was BAD).
Now on to the UGLY. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to document the sheer ugliness of it all. Needless to say, even though I prepared for the ride by eating breakfast, not "really" drinking any wine the night before (okay, I had two small glasses), hydrating a ton (I even drank gatorade on the way home from the event), not drinking caffeine (maybe THAT was the problem) - I got dropped like an extremely BAD habit!
Now, it wasn't THIS UGLY;
I didn't sustain any broken bones and I didn't crash at all (at least not literally) but I should have knows it was going to be incredibly UGLY when I got up that morning and got the message that the Open level ride was cancelled.
Now you have to understand, the HBC open and AA groups have been riding all winter. As we know from my previous posts, my current fitness level is in the toilet:
So I was already very wary of what would happen on the ride but I thought I might do okay. However, when I got to the ride I saw a lot of the Open level riders there ready to roll on their carbon fiber bikes and their Dura Ace setups. These are the Hammerheads - the gear grinding maniacs that sprint uphills in a way I only wish I could do right now. And here they were, lined up for the AA ride.
Now, according to our club ride description AA is 18-19 average MPH and Open is 20+ average MPH. Well, I knew from the start that this was going to be a fast ride as we started out. No rolling along for this group, we started out at 16mph from the parking lot. Now usually that's not fast but the group then ramped it up quick. When we hit the first hill I knew I was going to be in trouble as I was towards the back. I wasn't at the end but I was back there.
The leaders then proceeded to hit every short, steep climb they could find. Now, usually the route would not have been a problem to me - taken at my own pace. But trying to hold on to the group just wore me out I wasn't ready for this. To put it mildly, I SUCKED! and it was not pretty - it was downright UGLY! So, about 17 miles in I finally told the ride leader I was bailing out and I limped my way home.
On the way I came upon a group that was loping along at a constant 16 mph. I embedded myself into their group for a while since they were going the same way I was going but then I realized that I couldn't keep up this pace - it was driving me crazy! I mean, I just got my ass handed to me on a silver platter;
but I knew that I can't ride with the B+ group, that would just drive me insane and I would never get any better as a rider.
So here's the plan - RIDE MORE! Stop this namby pamby excuse that its raining (as its going to do for the next three days) and just get out and ride! The more I ride, the more my fitness level will increase and the more I'll be able to keep up with the big dogs!
In the meantime, I'm still looking for sponsors for the 2012 Connor's Army Cross Country Ride! Although we have the set back for the Victory Ride, we are still looking for people to help us! Now we're down to needing just over $5,000 so if you have any ideas PLEASE let us know and help us make those contacts!
In the meantime, I'll leave you with one last little clip of what I wish I could do if I didn't have three kids, a wife, car payments, mortgage and more common sense than is good for me. WARNING - THIS COULD BE UGLY (especially if you get motion sickness);
Stay well everyone and I WILL (not matter how UGLY it turns out) see you on the road!
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